Massive attack in central Damascus rocks the regime

At least 13 people have been killed in bomb attack on a square at the heart of
Damascus, according to Syrian state TV.

Automatic weapons fire was reported from the area near the old interior ministry in the Syrian capital immediately after the blast, suggesting an al-Qaeda style “complex attack” typical of rebel groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra.

Footage broadcast on state television showed smoke billowing over the site of the explosion, which blew out the windows of surrounding cars, knocking the bumpers off some and starting fires.

Uniformed and armed plainclothes security forces could be seen running near the scene, as residents fled from the site.

Several mutilated bodies could be seen lying in the street, and at least one body wrapped in a white sheet was laid out alongside an ambulance.

Fire engines were at the scene with firefighters battling several blazes.

The TV aired footage of fire trucks at the scene in central Marjeh Square and firefighters trying to extinguish a blaze that engulfed several cars and a nearby building.

A man was seen lying on the ground in a pool of blood while another, apparently wounded man, was seen being carried by civilians into a bus. State-run SANA news agency said there were casualties from the explosion but gave no specific figures.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine people were killed in Tuesday's blast. The group, which relies on a network on activists based in Syria, did not immediately provide details on those reported casualties.

The explosion underlined the tenuous security in the Syrian capital, just a day after a remotely detonated improvised explosive devise struck Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi's convoy.